Watch out for the star trap!

doweshowbellyad=0; The channels may be earning high TRPs by airing starry predictions on TV, but how authentic they are, KT finds out...Who doesn’t like to hear predictions by soothsayers, and when it’s so to do with foretelling destinies of the rich and famous!
So if its Sachin’s Rahu ki mahadasha being discussed on telly complete with ace batsman’s natal chart up for display or AbhiAsh’s bhaari mangal and its effects on their marital life or better still Narendra Modi’s phenomenal win owing to favourable placements of planets in his horoscope, it sure elicits a mass interest rare to match with any other subject.So obviously, not only the boob tube’s high on TRPs, the audience is lapping up the astro jargon too.
Not their fault, feel astro-experts of repute. “It’s human psychology to emulate public figures. So if a well-known star or celebrity is in dire straits and is extended astrological or numerological advise on a public forum like television, it encourages viewers to follow suit as well,” says Anupam Kapil, well-known astrologer.
He adds “However, what doesn’t strike people is that for making predictions or suggesting remedies one has to have personal details like date of birth, exact time, etc which is not that easily available.
Telly astrologers usually procure these from the net and the authenticity of such details is always doubtful.”
But feels well-known numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani, “Of course, there is always a possibility of celebrity’s birth details being erroneous on the net. But then, that is not the only source astrologers get it from. In fact, by paying a little extra moolah one can easily acquire birth details of any well-known celebrity from the hospitals they were born at. For instance, it’s common knowledge that Abhishek Bachchan was born at St George hospital, Mumbai, from where, any lesser known fortuneteller can easily obtain his birth details.”
However, interesting as that might sound, most famous astrologers maintain that when it comes to soothsaying for bigwigs, the only source of getting authentic details is the celebrity.
Explains Aaadietya Pandey, the city-based astrologer, who has well-known celebs approaching him for predictions: “Recently Gautam Gambhir approached me but when I asked him if I could get his birth details from the net, he refused saying the details on the net were incorrect. Similarly, when I was predicting for Aamir Khan I had to reconfirm his birth details available on net from his secretary, who told me the ones on the net were incorrect. So one should not really take the natal charts shown on TV or the net seriously. It is more like making a mockery of the science of astrology and defaming it.”
Confirms Vinod Kumar Mishra, Director, Bharatiya Jyotishved Shikshan Evam Anusandhan Sansthan, a Lucknow-based research institute of astrological sciences, “In fact even well-known public figures’ certificates carrying birthdays etc are not authentic which is usually referred to get such information. Moreover, not only celebs’ forecasts, even the general predictions made by pundits on TV are only 25 per cent accurate. For, it’s not possible that in a population of 1 billion the same prediction would hold true for everyone of a particular zodiac being talked about. Only a customised reading from a well-known expert of the field can guarantee that accuracy.”
A fact most oracles stand by. Affirms Pandey, “If you watch all these shows carefully, you’ll notice these astrologers on telly change so frequently and no one even knows who they are. In addition, these programmes are advertorials in which lesser-known fortune tellers pay a hefty sum from Rs 75,000 to Rs one lakh for self-promotion. No well-known astrologer would needs such promotion and so you’ll will never see them on such shows.”
Agrees Anupam Kapil, “These so called pundits give remedies from Lal Kitabs day after day. There are over 100 remedies to follow. Which is ridiculous as that’s not how remedies are given.” Quite a predicament this!